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Anyone play Paintball?

I used to play on a tournament team, and hardly have time to play. I loved it though. One of the reasons I ask is to gauge any possible interest in trades for my paintball set-up other reasons include reminiscing over good times had on the field. Now I am into mountain biking and kayak fishing among other things. More or less moved to more low impact hobbies.
Any other ballers out there?

Haven't used my paintguns in a long time. Love playing, but it's tough having an entire day or half a day free to play. That and it gets pricey. There are other things I'd rather spend the money on.

Been thinking of selling off my gear, too. It's just sitting unused these days. The only paintgun I know I'm hanging on to is my stock class pistol. That thing's been with me for at least 15 years now, and it's never let me down.

Best approach is to just rent and play for a bit first until you get a sense of what you like in terms of feel and what style you play. Kinda like cooking knives in that regard: get in some "use time" first to find out what you like and don't like.

Paintball equipment gets pricey and there's a lot out there that, I think, is a total waste of money. For the paintgun, performance comes down to just a few things:

- Does it feel good to you? Do you naturally aim it where you want it to go? (That "pointability" factor determined by weight/bulk, balance, grip type and angle, tank position...)
- Is your gas system consistent? And is your paintgun optimized for that gas? (Chances are that last question is not important at all... it is a consideration mainly for older paintguns)
- Do you have a good barrel that is a good boresize for the paint that you use and is finished nice and consistent inside?

That first one is the most important, and you won't know it until you get in some time with at least one or two setups. Then, after that, it's what you and your body are used to. Just like with a knife that you really know, you want to get to the point where the paintgun is like an extension of you and you can do what you need to do without really thinking about it.

For your mask... go with what feels good on your face. Try them on without the strap first to see if the curve is right for your head and face shape. If it is, then put the strap over, adjust and shake your head around a bit. It should stay put without squeezing your head or pinching anywhere. If nothing else, I'd suggest getting your own masks first even before you buy the rest of the gear. If you're comfortable with your mask and you can see without it fogging up and it doesn't stink like someone else's sweat... you'll feel better and play better.

Gloves and padding are optional... unless your wife, like mine, hates seeing bruises all over even if I say (truthfully!) that they don't hurt.

Oh... one last thing that is among the most important. Wear a cup. Soft cup is good enough and more comfortable than a hard one, but you will be very glad that you guys are using 'em at some point, sooner or later. Sooner if you play aggressively and up-close.

Oh... and don't worry about size and speed. You can play well and help your team without being the speediest player out there. You'll just be playing a different style and playing a different role than the smaller, "squirrellier" players

It's definitely pricey. $50 each time I go out playing pump. More if I'm going semi-auto and get a little enthusiastic with my trigger finger. I used to be able to have fun at a good local field for about $35 semi or $10 pump (though with an annual membership fee), but that's not doable anymore around here. It's always $50 and up, and the local fields aren't as good as they used to be.

I used to play as well. I never got as into the speedball / square field style of play, I always found the the big woodland games much more enjoyable. The place that I used to play back when I was in Pittsburgh was a few acres on an old mining hillside. Crazy terrain with a mix of deep brush, big trees, and open rocky areas. Little valleys and streams all over. It's the most fun game I've ever played, but that being said: I gradually stopped for most of the same reasons that others have mentioned: it was expensive, time consuming, and finding good fields was difficult after I moved. However, the biggest reason was that I didn't have the same core group of friends to play with.

It's a shame that balls are so expensive, but it makes sense considering the forces that they have to withstand and then still break on soft human body without doing serious damage.
I also understand why most fields won't allow outside paint: huge liability the other players getting shot with paint of unverified quality/ safety, but I feel like some of them really went crazy with what they charged for their field paint. They adopted the movie theater model of making admission pretty cheap, and then making all of their money on the paint, but I think kinda killed a lot of them off.

Anyone play airsoft? It seems to be on the rise, and while the guns do seems a bit "pew pew" in comparison to paintball markers, the ammo and gear is much, much cheaper.